Thailand Registers 36 Per Cent Increase In Dengue Fever

[george]

Thailand registers 36 per cent increase in dengue fever

BANGKOK: -- More than 21,000 patients suffering from dengue fever have been treated in Thailand during the first half of this year, with 17 persons having died from the rainy season disease, a senior public health ministry official said Saturday.

Bureau of Vector-Borne Diseases director Dr. Wichai Satimai said a total of 21,251 dengue fever patients were identified during the first six months of 2007, representing a 36 per cent increase from the corresponding period of last year.

Seventeen Thai victims died during the period. The sharp increase in the number of patients during the period was attributed to the early onset of the rainy season in Thailand, causing the quick breeding of dengue-carrying striped mosquitoes, said Dr. Wichai.

The incidence of dengue has been significantly on the rise in other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore also increased during the period, he added.

Earlier this week Cambodia reported 132 deaths from dengue fever in June alone, and asked for Thai government medical assistance, which is being extended.

--TNA 2007-07-08

[lotus eater]

Is there a repellent targetted at this "dengue carrying striped" mosquito?

Does anyone recommend a particular repellent of farang manufacture, more effective than those available in Thailand, for this mosquito - even if it's not targetted at just this mosquito?

I ask because I'm abroad just now and therefore can stock up on it for my return.

[lazeeboy]

Is there a repellent targetted at this "dengue carrying striped" mosquito?

Does anyone recommend a particular repellent of farang manufacture, more effective than those available in Thailand, for this mosquito - even if it's not targetted at just this mosquito?

I ask because I'm abroad just now and therefore can stock up on it for my return.

i always use products made in thailand as in uk there is no dengue ,you could also put lemon juice around your angles they done like that ,works for me and not an unpleasant smell either

[leisurely]

We use either Jaico or Off. To imagine that there are breed specific mosquito repellants is like thinking that a dog whistle will attract either a pug or a golden retrieiver.

Not at all surprised by the increase, I have seen many more mozzies (of all types)in the last couple of months

[Farma]

I came across an interesting article on mosquitoes while searching on google. It’s written by a doctor and includes test results for various popular natural and chemical mosquito repellent products from around the world.

The article is on this link http://www.raysahelian.com/mosquito.html

[Pattaya_Fox]

This is the mosquito... Note the striped legs.

[mrt273nva]

DEET... you can buy 99% solution in the states (but never seen it in thailand.) it is what the soldiers used in vietnam to keep the bugs off. turns out however that it causes skin cancer, so use it sparingly.

[geriatrickid]

I use the deep woods OFF (25% DEET) and have excellent results. I also wash it off when I'm done outside. SCJohnson's website gives a nice summary of their products. http://www.offprotects.com/deet/ they also have a fun little quiz on how tasty you are to the little monsters.

If you have land with a major problem, before spraying with insecticides, you might want to protect you natural control methods first, e.g. getting rid of standing water in pots or old tires etc. . A healthy spider, gecko and bird population, is a blessing since those guys devour mosquitos and their larvae. There is also the Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) . It is a live microorganism that targets specific insects.

The israelis came up with a variant that specifically targets mosquitos and is safer than the standard use B.t. (Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis)

I believe they were testing its efficacy at the Chiang Mai malaria research facility Don't know what happened but due to the large number of Thai farm workers in Israel, many Thais have knowledge of its use. (Very irritating, announcements of research and then no follow ups to let you know if anything was done or what the results were.)

[lotus eater]

i always use products made in thailand as in uk there is no dengue ,...

I'm not sure that this reasoning is sound. Most research on any disease is done in rich countries and the anti dotes developed by their pharmaceutical companies.

To imagine that there are breed specific mosquito repellants is like thinking that a dog whistle will attract either a pug or a golden retrieiver.

Frm what I'm reading here, you are right about there not being a dengue specific repellent. But I'm not so sure that this was logically foreseeable.

---

One useful thng I've learned from skimming through the material linked here by posters is that the percentage of deet in the repellent is linked to the period of efficacy not the degree of efficacy. So if one wants high efficacy for a brief outing, a weak deet repellent applied very liberally will do it.

[Carmine6]

Is there a repellent targetted at this "dengue carrying striped" mosquito?

Does anyone recommend a particular repellent of farang manufacture, more effective than those available in Thailand, for this mosquito - even if it's not targetted at just this mosquito?

I ask because I'm abroad just now and therefore can stock up on it for my return.

Best repellent I've ever found is 3M Ultrathon. I've used the 12 hour creme - 34% Deet.

Near the Yosemite valley in California there are so many mosquitoes in spring and summer that you literally will inhale them without protection. Happened to me twice and it's not fun. But with this stuff, it's astonishing. You'll have a cloud of mosquitoes around you and on you and then they'll drift off as you put it on. It looks like they know you're in the area, but can't find you. After hovering for a bit, they just leave. I've also used deep wood Off and it's good, but doesn't seem to last as long. I use this stuff backpacking so with the walking through water, sweating and all the dirt kicked up, you don't get the rated time.

There are at least 2 types of mosquitoes in the area I used it and one does have striped legs. Not sure if it's the same one, but it's probably from Asia.

About another post: I don't think DEET has been associated with cancer, but Agent Orange has. That's the herbicide/defoliant used in the Vietnam War.